1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical connecting mechanism between an apparatus main body of an image forming apparatus or the like and an optional device, when using the optional device by mounting to the apparatus main body. In addition, the present invention relates to an image forming apparatus having an electrical connecting structure. Furthermore, the present invention relates to an optional device that can be electrically connected by mounting to an image forming apparatus main body.
2. Related Art
Among image forming apparatuses such as copying machines and printers that form an image on paper by xerography, there are those in which a paper feeder is added on as an optional device to the image forming apparatus main body. In this case, although the image forming apparatus main body is positioned and placed on the paper feeder, it is necessary to electrically connect both in order to supply power from the image forming apparatus main body side to the paper feeder side that was added on.
Conventionally, the setup of optional devices such as a paper feeder has often been performed by a specializing serviceman, and the electrical connection between the optional device and the image forming apparatus main body has been performed exclusively using electrical wires.
However, in recent years, there has been an increasing trend of users performing the setup of optional devices. As a result, the electrical connection between the optional device and the image forming apparatus main body has been performed using drawer connectors, which completely do not require wiring by electrical wires.
In a case of using drawer connectors in this way, there is an opportunity for the drawer connector to be damaged when the drawer connector of the optional device side is projecting, for example, by the image forming apparatus main body hitting the drawer connector when the user installs the image forming apparatus main body on the optional device.
Therefore, a configuration has been proposed in which the drawer connector stays inside the optional device standing alone (in a state without the image forming apparatus main body placed thereon), and when the image forming apparatus main body is installed thereon, the drawer connector projects to a connecting position by the linking of this operation, and is connected to the drawer connector of the image forming apparatus main body side.
According to the above proposed configuration, the problem of damage does not arises due to the drawer connector of the optional device side being sheltered when installing the image forming apparatus main body to the optional device.
However, in the above proposed configuration, there is a possibility of a malfunction occurring in that power is supplied from the image forming apparatus main body side to the optional device side even in a state in which the drawer connector of the image forming apparatus main body side and the drawer connector of the optional device side are incompletely connected.